The mission that inspires our community is to provide a basis for scientific research on appropriate technologies and techniques for simple and cooperative living, and to serve an educational role in disseminating information on such technologies and techniques. Our initial mission has expanded somewhat, to emphasize sustainable forestry, food production, and related skills as well as appropriate technology, but the spirit of our work remains unchanged: to learn how to live together sustainably and ecologically and to help others to do the same, in this and other countries. Our sustainable forestry research focuses on selective thinning as an alternative to clear-cutting, low impact methods of timber removal (such as horse logging), planting, cultivation, and use of non-timber forest products. Our appropriate technology research concentrates on developing energy-efficient, nonpolluting, renewable technologies that reflect current research but which are designed to be made in most any country. Our designs use readily available materials, many of them considered trash, to create devices that can improve the quality of life while lessening environmental degradation. In our acre-plus organic garden, we grow the great majority of fresh produce we consume year round.

We currently offer an eight-week internship program where we teach up to 14 interns about sustainable forestry, appropriate technology, organic gardening, and other sustainable living skills. Contact us if you are interested.